Controlling device.



F. H. RICHARDS. OONTROLLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED 11.21, 1901. RENEWED MAB. 7, 1906.

992,252, Patented May 16, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

1: NORRIS PETERS ca. WASHINGTON, 1a.:

F. H. RICHARDS. CONTROLLING DEVICE. APPLIO'ATION FILED- JAN. 21,

2 SHBETSSHEET 2..

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FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, OF ONE-HALF TO AMERICAN TYPOGRAPHIC CORPORATION, A CORPORA- TION OF ARIZONA TERRITORY.

CONTROLLING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1911.

- Application filed January 21, 1901, Serial No. 44,110. Renewed March 7, 1906. Serial No. 304,776.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Controlling Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in controlling devices, and relates more particularly to a means for intermittently stop ping a moving member by which the shock incident to contact between the parts is largely eliminated.

A controlling device constructed in accordance with the present improvements is capable of a wide variety of applications in the arts where it is desired to bring a moving part or member to rest practically instantaneously and with a minimum of shock and noise.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation of one form of my invention shown in connection with a driving and driven member and a friction coupling. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3

is a top plan view. Fig. at is a vertical, longitudinal section on the line aa of Fig. 3. Fig. P is a perspective view, showing a looking engagement of a disk and sleeve. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line Z)b of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a detail in end elevation of the controlling detent and coacting stoparms. Fig. 7 is a similar view showing another position of the parts. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the end of one of the detent-arms; and Figs. 9, 10, 11, and 12 are sections through a detent-arm and a stoparm showing the parts in diiferent positions.

Similar characters designate like parts throughout the several figures of the drawmgs.

Upon some suitable base, designated by the numeral 10, may be mounted a shaft 11 in standards 12-12 serving as a support for driving and driven members with parts of a controlling device. This shaft may be secured against rotation by a set-screw 12" threaded through one of the standards and bearing against it. The driving member, which is shown as a pulley 13 loosely mounted on the shaft, preferably carries with it some form of friction coupling, a suitable one being that which is made the subject of my application for Letters Patent, filed January 5, 1901, Serial No. 42,186, but which may be here briefly described as consisting of a plate 14, forming a head of a cylindrical chamber, and a disk 15 adjustable toward and from said head; an inner disk 16 turning with the pulley and pressed toward the disk 15 by a spring 17; an intermediate disk 18; and on each side of the latter and contacting with it and with the disks 15 and 16 friction rings 1919 of fiber or other suitable material. The disk 18 has fastened for turning with it about the shaft a sleeve 20. Connection between the two may be in any desired way, as by interlocking projections on adjacent surfaces at 21, they being prevented from separating by a collar 22 secured to the shaft by a set-screw outside of the disk 15 and by the contact of the sleeve with the standard 12. To the sleeve 20 may be secured the driven member, herein shown as a gear 23, but which may be of any desired form, and one element of the controlling device, this being a wheel 24 having any desired number of stop-arms 25, herein shown as five in number, an outward portion of each, being, in form, adapted to properly engage with arms 29', and 30, as, and for the purpose, hereinafter set forth. The gear 23 and the wheel 24 may be secured to the sleeve between a nut 26 threaded thereon and a shoulder 27 Operating in connection with the wheel is a stop or detent 28. This may consist of an upper and a lower arm 29 and 30, respectively, secured to a lever 31 conveniently pivoted at 32 to the standard 12. The detent-arms are severally interspatially bifurcated radially at their outward portions. The inner faces of the bifurcated portions are, in form and structure, adapted to coactively and resiliently engage severally, the stop arms 25, and in the form shown are divergent upwardly, the upward portions thereof being longitudinally and outwardly convex. The respective dimensions and forms of these arms and of the stop-arms 25 should be such, relatively to each other, as to assure both a certain and a gradual engagement of said members and also an eventual stoppage of the moving members;

all regardless of practical speed conditions. Positive engagement of a moving member with another body without concussion may be effected by variously modifying the form, either of one or of a plurality, of contact parts, but the form chosen to illustrate my invention may be preferred for effecting the purpose mentioned. The lever 31 projects beyond the arms and plays between adjustable nuts 33 on a threaded rod 3% pivoted to the base, it being drawn normally into contact with the lower nut by a spring 35 also secured to the base, so that the detent arm 30 projects into the path of the stop arms 25. To operate the detent a lever 36 has been illustrated suitably fulcrumed upon a standard 37 mounted upon the base and contacting atone end of the under side of the lever 31 and provided at the other with a key or finger piece 38.

Referring to the four figures illustrating the construction and peculiar mode of ope *ation of the engaging parts of the stoparms and ClGtQDt-ZIIIUS, it will be noticed that in the construction herein illustrated the entrance of the stop-arm into the detentarm, as indicated in Fig. 9, operates to bring two parts into surface contact with very slight lateral movement of one surface toward the other surfaces, whereby the ve locity of the impact (except longitudinally of the surface) is reduced to a minimum or to such a small quantity as will in practice largely eliminate the blow and shock which would otherwise occur. Of course the surface velocity of the movement of the one part against the other in the direction of the surfaces will be determined by the velocity of the stop-arms, but the velocity of the approach of the one surface toward the other surfaces is measured vertically to these surfaccsthat is to say, laterally of the arm-hence by making the wedge portion 25 and the elastic arms 2929 and 30'- 30 at a very acute angle the approach of a stop-arm toward and into contact with a detent-arm may be regulated to any required extent. It will be seen that the general lines of the wedge portion 25 and the faces of the detent arms 29' are at an acute angle to the plane of movement of the wedge and that the faces 25 and 25 are at an obtuse angle to such plane. A further improvement in this part of my present invention relates to the manner in which the stop-arm is brought torest after contact is established between said arm and the elastic arms of the detent. When a stop-arm contacts with a detent-arm the momentum of the former and the parts connected therewith will drive forward the wedge-shaped end of the stop arm between resilient arms of the detent and thus separate said resilient arms more, while the stop-arm and all connected, frictionally-operated parts, are gradually brought to rest by the combined effect of the absorption of the kinetic energy and the re tardation of the momentum thereof by the frictional contact resistance, resulting from the engagement, first, of the cuneiform, and, second, of the curved portions of the several surfaces engaged. In order to guard against a stop-arm being forced entirely through the detent-arm in any exceptional ease, the stop-arm has formed upon it a curved or cam-like surface 25, and the detent-arms 29-30 have the corresponding bearing surfaces 25 of a shape somewhat varying from that of the stop-arm surfaces, the construction of said parts being such as is illustrated in Figs. 8 to 12. lVhen the stop -arm is violently forced forward into the space between the detentarms the point of contact shown at w in Fig. 10 will rapidly run upwardly around a gradually increasing curvature of said corresponding bearing surfaces 25 and 25, and, as shown in Fig. 11, will gradually advance to a point where the curvature of said bearing surfaces is such as to constitute a relatively positive stop for preventing the stop-arm from going beyond a predetermined point. lVhen the stop-arm shall have been forced forward into the detent-arm, as illustrated in Fig. 11, on releasing it from the force which may have driven it forward to the indicated position the pressure of the spring-arms 2929, 3030 toward each other will normally operate to retract the stop-arm to approXimately the position indicated in Fig. 12. This upward movement will, in some cases, be increased by the normal rebound of the driven mechanism, for the control of which the stop-arms are provided, so that, in practiee, before said driven part shall be brought positively to rest the stop-arms may have some reciprocatory movement back and forth between the positions indicated, for instance, in the successive Figs. 10, 11, and 12. In the use of this controlling device, the pulley 13 is preferably continuously driven by a suitable belt from some source of power and the disk 18 will tend to turn constantly with it through the frictional engagement of the disks 15-16 and rings 1919. As the disk 18 is positively connected with the driven member by the sleeve 20 this member will be rotated as long as it is free or does not offer greater resistance than the friction within the coupling. In the normal unoperated position of the parts, however, one of the stop-arms of the controlling device is in contact with the detentarm 30, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6, the driven member will then be held against rotation and the disk 18 will slip between the rings. When the key-lever 36 is depressed to operate the escapement the detent-arm 30 will be withdrawn from the path of the stop-arms and the detent-arm 29 moved into it, as is illustrated in Fig. 7, so that the driven member is rotated by the engagement of the coupling until the next stop-arm contacts with the upper detent-arm. Then upon the release of the key the detent-arm 29 will be withdrawn and 30 returned into the path of the stop-arms and the driven member will be rotated by the coupling until the next stop-arm contacts with the detentarm 30.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination, with a movable member provided with one or more arms having a wedge-shaped stop portion with a flaring back, of a detent having separated arms for engaging said stop portions.

2. The combination, with a movable member provided with one or more arms having a wedge-shaped stop portion with a flaring back, of a detent having separated spring arms for engaging said stop portions.

3. The combination, with a movable member provided with one or more arms having a wedgeshaped stop portion with a flaring back, of a detent having separated inclined arms for engaging said stop portions.

l. The combination, with a movable member provided with one or more arms having a wedge-shaped stop portion with a flaring back, of a detent having separated arms having flaring edges for engaging said stop portions.

Y 5. The combination with a movable member provided with a friction face disposed at an angle to the direction of movement of the member and with a stop face disposed at a relatively more obtuse angle thereto, of a detent member having a resilient friction part provided with a friction face adapted to cooperate with the friction face of the movable member and also with a stop face adapted to cooperate with the stop face of the movable member, and means for holding said faces in cooperative relation.

6. The combination with a movable member provided with a pair of oppositely disposed friction faces each disposed at an angle to the direction of movement of the member and also provided with a pair of stop faces, of an escapement comprising a plurality of detent members each embodying a pair of resilient friction parts adapted to be forced away from each other by the forcible engagement of the movable member with the detent member, each detent member being provided with a pair of stop faces cooperative with the stop faces of the movable member.

7. The combination with a movable member provided with a pair of oppositely disposed friction faces each disposed at an angle to the direction of movement of the member, of an escapement comprising a plurality of detent members each embodying a pair of resilient friction parts adapted to be forced away from each other by the forcible engagement of the movable member with the detent member, the friction faces on said resilient parts terminating in resilient stop faces cooperative with the stop faces on the movable member.

8. The combination with a movable member provided with a pair of oppositely disposed friction faces each inclined to the direction of movement of the member and each terminating in a stop face inclined to said direction of movement at an angle greater than the angle of repose, of an escapement comprising a plurality of detent members each embodying a pair of oppositely disposed resilient parts each having a friction face adapted to cooperate with the friction face of the movable member and each terminating in a stop face cooperative with the corresponding stop face of the movable member.

9. The combination with a member provided with a pair of oppositely disposed frictional surfaces each disposed transversely to the direction of the movement of the member, said friction surfaces terminating in stop faces, of an escapement comprising a plurality of detent members each embodying a pair of resilient friction parts adapted to be forced away from each other by the forcible engagement of the movable member with the detent member, the friction faces on said resilient parts terminating the resilient stop faces cooperative with the stop faces on the movable member.

10. The combination with a movable member provided with friction faces and wedge stop faces merging into these of a detent provided with resilient arms carrying friction faces for engaging the friction faces on said member, and flaring stop faces merging into the friction faces and disposed upon a more acute angle one relative to the other than the angle of the wedge faces for engaging the same, and through the resiliency and relative angularity of said stop faces affording frictional engagement until the movable part has been brought to a complete rest.

11. The combination with a rotary member provided with a number of arms, each of these having friction faces and wedge shaped stop faces, of a detent having friction faces for engaging the friction faces on said movable part, and wedge shaped faces for engaging the wedge shaped faces on said movable part, the relative angularity be tween said wedge faces, being such that in normal engagement the apeXes of the wedge formation will be out of engagement.

12. The combination with a movable member having friction faces at an acute angle to the plane of movement and stop faces at an obtuse angle to said. plane, of a detent, will be frietionally impeded, positively having friction faces at an acute angle to i stopped and elastically backwardly moved.

the plane of movement and stop faces at an w v a obtuse angle to said plane for engaging the BhANCIS RICHARDM 5 friction faces and stop faces respectively on 1 itnesses:

sald movable member, and one of these memg FRED. J. Donn, hers bemg resilient, whereby sald member (1E. Voss.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

